By Sarah Holliday

In the predawn stillness of a quiet Nigerian farming village last Friday, a heart-wrenching tragedy shattered the fragile peace. A Catholic mission, a sanctuary for displaced families — men, women, children, and elderly Christians fleeing the relentless violence of groups like Boko Haram — became the stage for an unspeakable nightmare.

As the weary refugees slumbered, their dreams of safety were obliterated by the sudden onslaught of heavily armed jihadists. The mission, a beacon of hope, was engulfed in flames, trapping the innocent in a fiery inferno. Those who escaped the blaze faced a merciless fate, gunned down or slaughtered to death with machetes as they fled in terror.

By the time the sun rose, casting its light on a day barely begun, at least 200 souls had been savagely stolen. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a Catholic charity, mourned the loss, stating that “the death toll makes it the single worst atrocity in the region, where there have been a sudden upsurge in attacks and increasing signs that a concerted militant assault is underway to force an entire community to leave.”

Speaking to ACN, the town’s parish priest, Father Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee, described the attack — less than 12 hours after it had occurred: “What I saw was truly gruesome. People were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered everywhere,” he recalled. The Diocese of Makurdi’s Foundation for Justice, Development, and Peace (FJDP) echoed his anguish, some of their staff haunted by the scene. “It was an eyesore,” they said, “not a sight for anyone to behold. Some [bodies were] burned beyond recognition: infants, children, mothers, and fathers just wiped out.”

Angbianbee pointed to the perpetrators with unwavering certainty: “There is no question about who carried out the attack. They were definitely Fulanis. They were shouting ‘Alahu Akhbar.’” A leading priest from the region voiced his despair over the absence of protection, his words heavy with frustration. “The morning after the attack, there were plenty of police and other security,” he said, “but where were they the previous evening when we needed them? This is by far the worst atrocity we have seen. There has been nothing even close.”

Angbianbee narrowly escaped death’s grasp. “When we heard the shots and saw the militants,” he said, “we committed our lives to God. This morning, I thank God I am alive.”

Though the massacre unfolded last Friday, the world only now begins to hear its echoes. On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV spoke of the “terrible massacre,” praying for those “brutally killed,” most of whom had sought refuge in the mission. He implored for “security, justice, and peace” in a nation where persecution stalks the faithful without relent.

ACN’s John Pontifex provided grim context, stating that “Friday night’s attack comes amid a spike in attacks on Benue State, centering on the Makurdi region, which is more than 95 percent Catholic. More than 100 people were killed in the Makurdi diocese’s Gwer West Local Government Areas, in attacks that started three weeks ago, with more than 5,000 people displaced.” The chilling truth, he revealed, is that “church leaders have repeatedly called for international help, saying that a jihadi militant plan is underway to seize land and ethnically cleanse the region of its Christian presence.” The Christian Post underscored the scale of suffering, noting that “nearly 10,000 Christians were killed by Islamic extremists between November 2022 and November 2024, according to a January report from the persecution watchdog group Global Christian Relief.”

In response to the circumstances, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins shared on X, “Shocking brutality against Christians in Nigeria. … Many of the victims were families sleeping in repurposed buildings because they had been displaced by previous violence.” He added a call to action: “America must use its influence to protect Christians and others being targeted by Islamists. The U.S. government should redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and sanction the Nigerian government.”

FRC’s Lela Gilbert, author and senior fellow for International Religious Freedom, also addressed the heartbreaking situation. She told The Washington Stand, “Western news reports often overlook the increasing bloodshed in Africa, where our Christian brothers and sisters are all too often the primary targets of Islamist terrorism — murders, rapes, kidnapping, and never-ending threats of more.”

“The reality,” she concluded, “is that radical Islamist violence is escalating across the continent, and particularly in Nigeria — Africa’s most populous country.” A village, where hope once flickered, now holds the scars of a fateful Friday that cry out for justice, for remembrance, and for a world to awaken to the plight of those who suffer in silence — the Christians who are unable to live in peace.

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.